The Grenada gazette. (Grenada, Miss.) 1885-18??, 1887-04-23

The Occult Art Practiccd by f'Rracettu.
and Hundreds Of Lesser Lights.

u W. A<VSoSs So
And nov we are going to let oul
readers into u few of the secrets il
search of which men of old spent theil
lives and their fortunes. Here, first,
is a prescription for the manufacture
Of artificial gold. taken from an old nj
chemistical manuscript:
Take equal parts Of powdered iron,
sublimated sulphur and crude anti.
mony. Melt it in n cruciblc and keep
it in red heat for eight hours. Pc WIDER
it and calcine it until the sulphur is
evaporated. Mix two parts Of this pow
der with one part of calcincl borax, and
melt it again. Powder and dissolve it IN
common muriatic acid, and let it stand
in Il moderate heat for one month. The
fluid is then to be put into a retort and
distilled, and the fluid that collects in
the recipient (the muriatic acid) is re.
turned into the retort and again dis
titled. and this is repeated three times;
the third time a red powder will be left
in the retort. This powder is to be
dissolved in the ''menstruum philo-
sophicun," which is made by
pouring chloride of anthony into wa
ter, filtering and e%yaporating the fluid
to II certain extent to make it stronger.
This solution is to be evaporated again,
and the remaining powder mixed with
its own weight of corrosive sublimatc
of mercury. This powder is to be dis
solved again in diluted muriatic acid,
and distilled until a red. oily substance
passes into the receiver. If you OBJ
tain this oil, you may take some newly
prepared chloride Of silver, saturatc 1t
gradually with the oil, and dry it. Put
one part of this powder into five parts
of molten lead: separate the lead again
from the silver by cupellation, and you
will find that onc-third of the silver
has been transformed into gold.
II would be cheaper and easier. in
the long run, if one could find the pre-
scription for the ''Tinctura Physical"
a red ethereal fluid which was capable
of transmitting all inferior metals into
gold, and had other wonderful virtues
as well. Paracelsus had the secret of
this fluid. he says. but has not revealed
it. Possibly the prescription is the
treasure which he said he had bur.
led at the hospital Of Weiden, and
which is a '.jewel of such a value that
neither Pope Leo o the Emperor
Carolus could buy it with all his
wealth.
He has told us, however, how to
make the ''Elcctrum Magicum,' out Of
which you may make a mirror in which
you may see the events of the past and
the present, absent friends and enc.
mics, and so forth. Take ten parts of
pure gold. ten of silver, five Of copper,
two of tin, two of lead. II of powdered
iron, and five Of m~ercury-all pure
metals. Wait until Saturn and Mer.
curry come into conjunction, having all
your appliances ready for the fortunate
moment. Then melt the lead, add the
mercury, and let it cool. Wait for a
conjunction Of Jupiter with Saturn and
Mercury. then melt your compound in
a crucible, and in another crucible the
tin, and pour the two metals together
at the moment Of conjunction. Wait
for a conjunction of the II with either
Of the planets. and then melt and add
the gold. Similarly, at a conjunction
Of the moo with the sun, or Saturn,
or Mercury, add the silver in like a
ncr; and at a conjunction Of Venus
with any Of the others, add the copper.
The last conjunction Is with Mars,
when the iron is to be added, the fluid
stirred with a dry rod Of witch-hazel,
let it cool-and there you are!
This is how to prepare the elixir of
life, which Paracelsus did not-with all
respect to Sir Thomas Browne-hold
capable of rendering the physical body
immortal. but only Of prolonging life:
Take half a pound of pure carbonate
VI potash and expose 1t in the air III
dissolved. Filter the fluid and add as
many leaves Of the plant melissa rs 1t
will hold. Let it stand in a wcll-closcd
glass and in a moderately warm place
for twenty-four hours. Remove the
leaves and throw them away; on the
top Of the fluid pour absolute alec.
hol'' to the height Of one or two inches,
and let it remain until the alcohol be-
comes intensely green. Take away
the alcohol and preserve it.. and 60 on
repeating the operation until all the
coloring matter is absorbed by the al-
cohol from the alkaline fluid. Now
distil your alcoholic iuid and evapo-
rate 1t until it becomes n syrup, and
that is your elixir Of life, by which
"man may r%cjuvenate his constitution
by purifying it SO that it may be able
to receive without any interruption the